“Opponents said the legislation would make it harder for borrowers to obtain a house and increase the cost of credit. But supporters said the problems in the mortgage-finance system allowed excesses and abuses to hurt homeowners. They said lenders were able to exploit a patchwork of state and federal laws to trap borrowers in unaffordable loans using questionable underwriting practices.”

“But the bill has a dark side: It could prevent people who would normally qualify for mortgages from getting one. How many? It's unknown. In addition, the legislation, if passed, may drastically increase the number of lawsuits surrounding the subprime mortgage industry if borrowers somehow prove lenders steered them into loans they couldn't repay.”

“HR3915, which is strongly opposed by some segments of the lending community, sets minimum standards for loans including a reasonable assumption that the borrower will be able to repay the loan. It also mandates a mechanism for licensing mortgage brokers who are not appropriately regulated by the states or by agencies such as the Comptroller of the Currency. The bill also proposes liabilities for those who securitize potentially risky loans.”

“Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC), one of the bill's co-authors along with Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC) and Committee chairman Barney Frank (D-MA), said the measure would ‘be the most significant consumer legislation in more than a dozen years.’‘Thousands of middle-class homeowners could be saved from foreclosures should the bill become law,’ Miller said.”